Method of making fastening devices



y 8, 1965 G. B. SELLERS 3,183,586

METHOD OF MAKING FASTENING DEVICES Original Filed April 28, 1959 FIG. 2.

57 5 BY H15 47702445149 United States Patent Claims. cl. 29-441 This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 809,371, filed April 28, 1959, now abandoned.

The present invention relates in general to a method of making fasteners and, more particularly, to quickreleasable fastening device of the clevis pin type utilized to hold together temporarily two or more members or plates, or other structural elements, by inserting the fastener into registered holes in the members. A general object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved method of making a fastening device of this general character.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making a fastening device of basic simplicity in structural configuration as compared to conventional fastening devices of this general character.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacture of the fastening device and to provide a new article of manufacture therefor.

The present invention is concerned with the manufacture of a fastening device of the type which includes: a barrel or body having one or more radial holes therethrough adjacent one end thereof, a detent in each of the radial holes in the barrel and movable inwardly and outwardly therein between inner, retracted and outer, extended positions, each such detent projecting laterally from the barrel when in its extended position to prevent withdrawal of the barrel from the registering holes in the structural elements through which the barrel extends; a longitudinal plunger or pin movable axially in the barrel or body between operative and inoperative positions and having means thereon adjacent one end thereof for moving the detent or detents outwardly into its or their extended position or positions when the longitudinal pin is in its operative position; spring means engaging the longitudinal pin and biasing the same toward its operative position; means for limiting the outward movement of the detents; and means for limiting the inward movement of the detents when the longitudinal pin or plunger is in its inoperative position.

With such a fastening device, the detent or detents are permitted to move inwardly to retract the same by moving the longitudinal pin axially into its inoperative position. Such movement is preferably in opposition to the action of the spring means. When the pin is in its inoperative position, the fastening device may be inserted into registering holes in the structural elements to be held together temporarily, the external shoulder on the barrel or body limiting insertion of the fastening device. When the longitudinal pin is moved to its operative position, as for example by biasing of the spring means, the detent or detents are urged outwardly to their extended positions and project laterally from the barrel which prevents withdrawal of the fastening device from the registering holes in the elements to be secured together. When the longitudinal pin is moved to its inoperative position, the detents are free to move inwardly to their inner positions. The inward movement of the detents is limited by means provided upon the body or barrel inasmuch as then the longitudinal pin is in its inoperative position it has been substantially displaced from the zone of contact with said detents were the detent movement not so limited by the means provided on the barrel.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a method of making a fastening device of the foregoing type wherein a new and novel means precludes the removal or inadvertent displacement of the detents from the zone of movement between their inner and outer positions when the longitudinal pin is in its inoperative position.

A further primary object of the invention is to provide a simple and expedient method of manufacture of a fastening device of the foregoing type whereby the detents may be disposed within the radial holes of the barrel or body and retained therein within the extremes of the limits of the inner and outer positions absent the utilization of the longitudinal pin or portion thereof as a means for limiting the inward movement of said detents.

It is also apparent that the invention may be applied to produce a fastener of the detent type in which the body may assume various cross-sectional configurations such as square, round, hexagonal and the like, and with various shapes and numbers of detents.

The drawing merely illustrates and the description merely describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention which is given by way of illustration or example. Referring to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastening device of the invention inserted into registering holes in elements to be held together;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional views of the barrel of the fastening device in progressive stages of fabrication;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the left end of the barrel of FIG. 2 and illustrating a first tool means for providing an external retainer on the barrel for one of the ball detents;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 with the first tool means removed and the ball detents inserted into the radial holes in the barrel;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6 and illustrating a second tool means for providing an internal stop means on the barrel for the ball detents;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the barrel and uppermost ball detent as illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of the barrel taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8, with the ball detent removed;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of the barrel and second tool means taken along the line ltl-ltl of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 11 is an end view of the second tool means illusstrated in FIG. 7 viewed from the right.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, illustrated therein is a fastening device 15 of the invention which is insertable through registered holes l6, 17 in plates l8, 19 or other structural elements, to hold the same together temporarily. Obviously, the device 15 may be used with a larger number of structural elements than herein illustrated.

The fastening device includes a barrel 2%, a longitudinal pin 21 axially slidable in the barrel, and a plurality of detents 22, herein illustrated in the form of balls which are retained within the confines of a corresponding plurality of radial holes 23 in the wall of the barrel Zll. The open end of the barrel adjacent the detents may be closed by a plate 24 if desired, the plate being fixed in place by spinning, peening, welding or other suitable method.

The pin 21 is urged to its operative position, as shown in FIG. 1, by a spring 28 acting between an end plate 29 and a flange 3% on the pin.

the aligned holes of the plate by applying a pulling force to the ring 33'. This compresses the spring 28 permitting the pin it to move away from the detents 2,2. The detents then move radially inward into the open space left in the barrel, permitting the barrel to be extracted from the holes in the plates.

Two or more members having aligned openings may be Movement of the pin to. the left is limited by engagement of the flange 30 With.

fastened together by compressing the spring 28 and inserting the detent end of the fasteningdevice into the aligned holes. When the detent end of the fastener projects from the aligned openings, the spring 23 forces the detents to their extended position by means of the cam action exerted by the chamfered end 37 of the pin.

It should be noted that the end of the pin 21 which engages the detents 22 may be of uniform cross section, there being no requirement for a zone of reduced size for receiving the detents when in their inwardly projecting state.- This'simple pin construction is made possible by applicants unique detent retaining structure. The. barrel Ztl is formed from a blank 40 as shown in FIG. 2. An axial opening 4R is formed in the blank for slidingly receiving the pin 21 and the lateral holes 23 are produced by-drilling,'piercing or other suitable operation adjacent one end of the blank. This end is ordinarily chamfered as at 42 for ease of insertion into the aligned openings of the plates to be fastened together. A counterbore 43 in the head end of the barrel provides space for the spring 28 and the flange 30 of the pin, and another counterbore 44 produces the flange 32 and the space for the end plate '29.

, An axial opening 4 7, ordinarily in the form of a counterbore, of larger size than the opening 41, is provided in the end of the barrel adjacent the detent receiving openings 23. This opening 47 is relatively shallow, terminating in a shoulder 47a short of the lateral openings 23 to leave a thin wall section 48 between the shoulder 47a and each of the lateral openings 23. The barrel atthis stage of manufacture is shown in FIG. 4 and the detent end is shown enlarged in FIG. 5.

The next step in the manufacture of the barrel is ordinarily peening over the outer ends of the detent receiving openings 23. This may be accomplished by positioning the barrel in an anvil 5'9 having a raised spherical surface 51 for entering the lower of the lateral openings and striking the outer end of the upper lateral opening a hammer blow with a spherical die 52. The peripheries of the outer ends of the lateral openings are deformed or peened inward as seen in FIG. 6 to partially obstruct the lateral openings.

The next step is to place a detent ball 22 in each of the lateral openings and then deform or bend portions of the thin wall sections 48 into the lateral openings to partially close the inner ends of each of the openings. This may be accomplished by inserting a tool 55 into the end of the barrel and applying pressurethereto to deformv the radial sections 48.

The tool 55 is shown in FIGS. 7, l0 and 11. The tool has a larger section 56 which is a sliding fit in the axial opening 47 and a smaller section 57 which is a sliding fit in the axial opening 41, which openings serve to align the tool in the barrel. There is a stepwise junction between the sections 56, 57 except for sloping ribs 58, with a rib corresponding to each lateral opening 23 When the tool 55 is driven into the barrel to the position shown in FIG. 7, the ribs 5% engagethe corresponding radialsections 48 and deform portions of the sections inwardly into the lateral openings, as seen in the enlarged view of P188.

The inwardly bent sections 48 now serve as stops for limiting the inward movement of the detent balls. At the same time, these stops do not project into the axial opening i1 and therefore do not impede the movement of the pin-2i. Also, the stops project only part way into the lateral openings and thereby permit the detents to project into the axial opening 41 while retaining the detents securely in position. This is in contrast to the previously known clevis pin type of fasteners wherein it was necessary to provide detent receiving means on the sliding pin in order to retain the detents in the barrel. Of course, means other than the tool 55 may be used to deform a section of the wall between the larger opening 47 and the lateral openings 23 for reducing the size of the inner end of the lateral openings.

I claim:

l. A method of manufacturing a fastening device of the character described including: forming a hollow barrel with an enlarged head at the upper end thereof and an enlarged internal counterbore inthe lower end thereof thereby providing an internal shoulder facing said lower end; radially perforating said barrel next adjacent said internal shoulder providing a radial opening through the wall of said barrel and to provide a thin upstanding wall segment intermediate said shoulder and said radial opening; deforming the outer wall of said barrel adjacent said opening to provide a partial obstruction over said opening; inserting a ballin said opening; deforming a portion of said thin upstanding wall between said internal shoulder and said opening providing a lip partially obstructing said opening, whereby said ball is permanently retained within said opening and'adapted to move in wardly and outwardly between positions partially projecting into said hollow barrel and partially projecting laterally outward of said barrel, respectively.

2. A. method according to claim 1 wherein the said radial perforating provides a thin upstanding wall segmentintermediate said shoulder and said radial opening, and said deforming of' said shoulder is constituted by tool means insertable into said hollow barrel through the lower end thereof and rolling a portion of said upstanding wall over into partially obstructing relationship with said hole.

3. A method of manufacturing a fastening device, including the steps of :forming a barrel with an axial opening therethr'ough; forming a'lateral opening through the wall of said barreladjacent one end; forming a larger axial opening at said one end with said larger opening terminating short of said lateral opening to leave a thin wall section between said larger axial opening and said lateral, opening; deforming the outer wall of the barrel adjacent the lateral opening to provide a partial obstruction over said lateral opening, inserting a ball in said lateral opening and bending a portion of said thin wall section into said'lateral opening to partially close said lateral opening at the inner end thereof to limit'rnovement of said ball therein.

4. A method of manufacturing a fastening device, including the steps of: forming a barrel with a small axial opening therethrough; forming a lateral opening through the wall of said barrel adjacent one end; forming a larger axial opening at said one end with said larger opening terminating short of said lateral opening to leave a thin wall section between said larger axial opening and said lateral opening,.with said thin wall section having the same internal dimensions as the contiguous axial opening; de-

forming the outer wall of the barrel adjacent the lateral opening to provide a partial obstruction over said lateral opening, inserting a ball in said lateral opening; and deforming an edge portion of said thin wallsection into said lateral opening to partially close said lateral opening at the inner end thereof to limit movement of said ball therein While permitting said ball to project into said smaller axial opening.

5. In the art of manufacturing a fastening device formed of a hollow barrel having a hole formed radially through the Wall of the barrel adjacent to one end thereof and a detent mounted within said hole for sliding movement radially of said barrel, the process of providing a stop to limit the inward movement of the detent comprising the steps of counterboring the end of the barrel adjacent said hole to a depth providing a thin Wall section between the hole and the bottom of the counter-bore,

and forcing a portion of said thin Wall section into said hole at the inner end of said hole to partially obstruct said hole and thereby prevent said detent from passing out of the inner end of said radial hole.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 61 Chapman et al. 11/62 Cooprider.

CHARLIE T. MOON, Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A FASTENING DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED INCLUDING: FORMING A HOLLOW BARREL WITH AN ENLARGED HEAD AT THE UPPER END THEREOF AND AN ENLARGED INTERNAL COUNTERBORE IN THE LOWER END THEREOF THEREBY PROVIDING AN INTERNAL SHOULDER FACING SAID LOWER END; RADIALLY PERFORATING SAID BARREL NEXT ADJACENT SAID INTERNAL SHOULDER PROVIDING A RADIAL OPENING THROUGH THE WALL OF SAID BARREL AND TO PROVIDE A THIN UPSTANDING WALL SEGMENT INTERMEDIATE SAID SHOULDER AND SAID RADIAL OPENING; DEFORMING THE OUTER WALL OF SAID BARREL ADJACENT SAID OPENING TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL OBSTRUCTION OVER SAID OPENING; INSERTING A BALL IN SAID OPENING; DEFORMING A PORTION OF SAID THIN UPSTANDING WALL BETWEEN SAID INTERNAL SHOULDER AND SAID OPENING PROVIDING A LIP PARTIALLY OBSTRUCTING SAID OPENING, WHEREBY SAID BALL IS PERMANENTLY RETAINED WITHIN SAID OPENING AND ADAPTED TO MOVE INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY BETWEEN POSITIONS PARTIALLY PROJECTING INTO SAID HOLLOW BARREL AND PARTIALLY PROJECTING LATERALLY OUTWARD OF SAID BARREL, RESPECTIVELY. 